Rams seeking complete effort in tournament

CSU continues Vegas Classic tonight vs. Portland

By Sean StarLovelandReporter-Herald

Posted:
12/21/2012 11:19:18 PM MST

Updated:
12/21/2012 11:19:46 PM MST

FORT COLLINS -- After falling in back-to-back road games -- the team's first two losses of the season -- the Colorado State men's basketball team successfully bounced back this week with a pair of wins over North Florida and Cal State-Bakersfield. Both victories were by at least 20 points, which on the surface indicates dominance.

However, neither game was a complete 40-minute effort. Instead the Rams (8-2) won by such margins thanks in large part to a pair of commanding second halves.

The slow starts are becoming a pattern, and one that won't be nearly as easy to overcome once Mountain West play starts in less than a month.

Following Wednesday's 78-58 win over Bakersfield -- a game in which CSU trailed by one at halftime -- players said one of the biggest issues for the slow start was not putting enough thought into the defensive end. Correcting that will be a top priority tonight in Las Vegas against Portland, a continuation of the Las Vegas Classic.

"That's two games in a row," senior guard Wes Eikmeier said. "So we're going to watch film, learn from it and get better."

"The more that we all have thought into what we're doing at that certain time," senior forward Greg Smith said, "it's going to be more successful for all of us."In order to get a more complete effort, first-year coach Larry Eustachy said it all starts with him increasing demands from the players on a more consistent basis.

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When the Rams are allowing lesser opponents to stick around, it's because -- like they said -- the thought and effort isn't there on every single play.

"It is all about playing the way we are teaching, and the way more importantly, that they buy into it. It's just harder," Eustachy said. "It is easy to go out there and not concentrate. It is easy to go out and jack up long shots. It is hard to work the ball and get it inside. It is easier to run into a screen and just stand there. We were doing a lot of that in the first half (on Wednesday)."

Eustachy has prioritized defense since his arrival, and through the first couple weeks of the season that's equated to a slight decline in the team's offensive efficiency as compared to a season ago.

However, in the past two games, the Rams started changing things up, going with just one post instead of the high-low set they were primarily using before.

Instead of constantly going through center Colton Iverson, the offense has relied more on perimeter ball movement, allowing guys like Eikmeier to regain his shooting touch. After a couple of rough outings in the losses at Colorado and Illinois-Chicago, Eikmeier busted out of a minor slump with 17 points on Wednesday.

Though it's not just on the offensive end where Eikmeier made an impact, Eustachy said.

"I think he's enjoying not resting on defense. I think he's enjoying trying to stick to the best player. I think he's enjoying rebounding the ball," the coach said. "I think he's enjoying the freedom he gets on offense. I think he's enjoying the game, you'd have to ask him."

With regards to his own play, Eikmeier did say he felt he's getting in more of a rhythm, but that the larger sense he has is about everyone getting on the same page more as of late.

"I think our whole team is just kind of gelling together," he said. "You can go down the line, I just think our whole group's starting to play better."

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story